Violet stepped inside. “Jewelry?”
“Maybe?” I cut open the first wrapping paper to reveal a black felt jewelry box. The snap was easy to open, and I flipped it up, revealing a stunning gold and garnet bracelet.
“Wow,” Violet breathed. “That’s beautiful.” She angled closer. “No card?”
I doubled-checked the inside of the bigger box. “No. Nothing.”
“Maybe the other box has matching earrings,” she said.
“Maybe.” This was so weird. My admirer was spending some serious money on this campaign. Did Jareth Davey have money? Or was this somebody new and creepy? I wasn’t sure and I didn’t like it. With efficient movements and more confidence this time, I cut the other paper and pushed it off the box.
It was another black felt box. Probably earrings or a necklace.
I opened it to reveal a finger on cotton batting. A real, bloated, bloody finger.
Violet shrieked. Oliver grabbed her arm and yanked her back and away from the packages.
My stomach turned over, and I scrambled into the hallway with the kids, trying not to throw up.
Oliver leaned against the far wall, gagging. “Well, at least it wasn’t a head.”
Detective Pierce finishedwith his questions after the techs had bagged the evidence, smelling like lavender and looking as pissed off as usual. “Why the hell did you open that box?”
“You’ve already asked me that three times,” I snapped back, not having a good answer. Except I’d wanted to know what was in it and was fairly certain it wasn’t a bomb. “Any clue whose finger that is?”
“Nope. We don’t have any reports of a person losing a finger or of anybody missing a digit in the morgue.” He stood from my guest chair and loped toward the doorway, looking long and lean in jeans and button-down with green tie. No doubt he had a sports coat somewhere, but he’d been the first to arrive when I’d called, so he’d obviously been away from his office. “Any chance you want to take a vacation from this mess while I figure it out?”
I sighed. “The mess would still be here when I got back.”
He turned, his green eyes veiled. “That’s the truth. All right. I’ll send over a uniform to watch the office during the day, but I can’t get you any cover at night. The flu is going around, and we’re understaffed.”
I had held it together as long as I could and needed him to leave. “I appreciate the uniform here at work.” It eased my mind since Clark, Oliver, and Pauley could be caught in the middle of whatever this was. “Any word on Jareth Davey?”
“I’ve got nothing,” Pierce admitted. “We know he was here earlier in the summer, so I’m trying to track him from that point. Devlin has better resources and must be doing the same thing.” He put his notebook in his back pocket and looked down at the silver glitter on his shoes. “Have Devlin call me if he gets a hit. We should coordinate.” With that, Pierce turned and walked down the hallway, kicking up glitter as he went.
My cell phone buzzed, and I paused before answering. Just in case. Then I glanced at the screen and scrambled. “Hi, Aunt Yara,” I said breathlessly.
“Hi, sweetie. Sorry about the delay in getting back to you—business at the antique store has been crazy. The holiday rush is on,” my aunt said, Christmas music in the background. “What’s up?”
Taking a deep breath, I told her all about Violet and her situation. “I need her to find a safe place where she’ll stay, and since you used to foster kids, I thought of you. I know it’s a long shot, but…” I held my breath.
Aunt Yara hummed quietly. “A sixteen-year-old girl? Well, that’d be interesting. If she needs a place to live, then she needs a place to live. I’m swamped tonight with special shopping hours. Why don’t you bring her over for dinner tomorrow night, and we can meet each other?” The music decreased in volume through the phone. “We might as well see if we’re compatible before calling in favors with the state, right?”
Relief buzzed through me so quickly I sagged. “She has a dog.”
“We have ten acres, so a dog is fine. But Anna, don’t get your hopes up because if Violet doesn’t want to be here, she won’t stay. I won’t force her. I learned that through the years.”
“I understand,” I said. “We’ll see you for dinner.”
“I’ll make my taco bar,” Yara said. “Be here by seven and bring dessert, would you? Oh. Gotta go. Bye.” She clicked off.
I sat back and tried to calm myself. The image of that finger, a pinkie as it turned out, wouldn’t leave my mind.
Violet appeared in the doorway. “Are you okay?”
No. “Yeah, I’m fine. How about you?” I’d been trying to help her and now had probably just terrorized the girl.
Her black hair bobbed around her shoulders as she walked inside and took one of the guest chairs. “I’ve never seen a cut off finger, but really, I’m fine. You’re amazing. I can’t believe how cool you were.”
